The Ramayana: Composition, Content and Historicity

1.1 Who is said to have composed it?

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. Tradition credits it to the poet Valmiki. World History Encyclopedia says he taught it to Rama’s sons, the twins Lava and Kush.

1.2 What does the name mean?

The name joins Rama and ayana, which means going or advancing. So it reads as the travels of Rama. Tradition also calls the poem the Adi Kavya. Adi means original or first. Kavya means poem.

1.3 How long is it?

It has about 24,000 verses in seven books, called kandas. That is about a quarter of the length of the Mahabharata.

2.1 What are the seven kandas?

The Valmiki Ramayana is traditionally divided into seven books. They follow Rama’s life from birth to the end.

Source: New World Encyclopedia (Ramayana).

2.2 Where does Hanuman belong?

Hanuman is a Vanara, a monkey, of the kingdom of Kishkinda. In the Kishkindha Kanda, Rama befriends Sugriva and the Vanara army.

New World Encyclopedia says Rama is said to have met Hanuman at a cave near Hampi that matches the descriptions of Kishkinda. The Kishkindha Kanda is the book of that kingdom.

2.3 How can you recall the order?

• Bala: the child Rama.
• Ayodhya: the exile begins.
• Aranya: the forest.
• Kishkindha: the Vanaras.
• Sundara: Hanuman in Lanka.
• Yuddha: the war.
• Uttara: what comes after.

3.1 Why was Rama exiled?

Dasharatha’s youngest queen invoked an old promise. She demanded that Rama be exiled for 14 years. She also demanded that her own son, Bharat, be crowned king.

3.2 What went wrong in the forest?

Ravana abducted Sita. He placed her in his flying chariot and carried her to Lanka.

3.3 How did it end?

Rama gained the help of the monkey chief Sugriva. He gathered a monkey army and built a bridge across the ocean. After a great battle, he killed Ravana and freed Sita. The 14 years were over, so Rama returned to Ayodhya and was crowned king.

4.1 Who are the main figures?

Rama is the hero. He is the eldest son of Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya. The epic shows him as an incarnation of the god Vishnu. Sita is his wife and the daughter of king Janaka.

Source: New World Encyclopedia (Ramayana).

4.2 What do the others do?

Lakshmana, Rama’s younger brother, chose to go into exile with him. Bharata asked for Rama’s sandals and placed them on the throne. Ravana is the demon king of Lanka. The sage Vishwamitra took Rama into the forest to fight the demons who ruined his sacrifices.

5.1 Which books form the core?

There is general consensus on this point. Books two to six are the oldest part of the epic. They run from the Ayodhya Kanda to the Yuddha Kanda.

5.2 Which books came later?

The first book, Bala Kanda, and the last, Uttara Kanda, are later additions. They hold most of the mythological interpolations. One example is the miraculous birth of Rama and his divine nature.

5.3 Is that the only view?

No. Many experts say the two books are still an integral part of the story. They note many differences in style and some contradictions in content. Even so, they do not treat the books as outsiders.

6.1 Where does Valmiki's own poem stop?

World History Encyclopedia says Valmiki’s poem is thought to have six chapters. It ends at the happy point, with Rama crowned and ruling well.

6.2 What does the seventh book add?

A seventh chapter, the Uttar-Ramayana, continues the story. It tells of Rama and Sita after their return, and of Sita’s banishment. It ends with the passing of Sita and Rama.

7.1 What dates do the sources give?

No single date is settled. Sources give a range, and each one is a view.

Sources: New World Encyclopedia and World History Encyclopedia. These are views, not one settled date.

7.2 Why is the range so wide?

The epic has been through a long process of redactions. New World Encyclopedia says it is impossible to date accurately. It may have emerged slowly, maybe from the 5th century BCE to the 4th century CE.

7.3 What is the oldest manuscript?

The text survives in many complete and partial manuscripts. The oldest surviving one is dated to the 11th century CE.

8.1 What do the Vedic books show?

The names Rama, Sita, Dasharatha, Janaka, Vasishta and Vishwamitra are known in the Brahmanas. Those Vedic texts are older than Valmiki’s poem. But no surviving Vedic poetry has a story like Valmiki’s Ramayana.

8.2 What does the geography show?

The author or authors of the Bala and Ayodhya Kandas seem to know the Kosala and Magadha region. That was the region of the sixteen janapadas. From the Aranya Kanda on, the story turns abruptly into fantasy. The geography of central and south India is vaguely described.

8.3 Why not date it by its language?

After hundreds of years of transmission, the epic went through numerous variations. So it cannot be dated by linguistic analysis as a whole.

9.1 Do all versions agree?

No. Many versions of the Ramayana survive. The version told in north India differs in important respects from the one kept in South India and South-East Asia.

9.2 Who retold it later?

Valmiki’s Ramayana inspired many later poets.

Source: New World Encyclopedia (Ramayana).

9.3 What kind of version is the Ramcharitmanas?

Tulsidas wrote the Sri Ramacharit Manas in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi. New World Encyclopedia says its slant is grounded in bhakti, or devotion.

9.4 Did the story travel abroad?

Yes. Kakawin Ramayana is an old Javanese version from the ninth century. Thailand’s national epic, the Ramakien, is derived from the Ramayana. Phra Lak Phra Lam is a Lao version, and its title comes from Lakshmana and Rama. In many Malay versions, Lakshmana matters more than Rama.

10.1 What traps repeat?

• Adi Kavya: it means the first poem.
• Length: about 24,000 verses in seven kandas, not 100,000.
• The core: books two to six; Bala and Uttara came later.
• Hanuman: his kingdom of Kishkinda goes with the Kishkindha Kanda.
• The date: a range, not one year.